The suicide by a 54-year-old municipal corporation Class 4 employee, Ram Lubhaya, on May 27 and the discovery of his suicide note in which he named a tipper driver with the civic body and other MC officials for allegedly trapping him into a loan scandal has led other workers to demand a high-level probe into the matter.

punjabUpdated: Jun 03, 2015 20:15 IST

Nitindra Bandyopadhyay Hindustan Times

The suicide by a 54-year-old municipal corporation Class 4 employee, Ram Lubhaya, on May 27 and the discovery of his suicide note in which he named a tipper driver with the civic body and other MC officials for allegedly trapping him into a loan scandal has led other workers to demand a high-level probe into the matter.

The workers have alleged that there is a loan racket on within the MC under which thousands of illiterate Class 4 employees are being duped.

The union members have written a letter to mayor Sunil Jyoti and municipal commissioner Gurpreet Khehra seeking a high-level inquiry into the matter.

The main allegation of the workers is that they have been tricked into signing documents which state that they have been given a loan running into lakhs of rupees, while in reality they have been made a payment of only a few thousand of rupees.

So, they end up paying interest on a loan amount that has never even reached them.

"Many MC employees, including some in our union, are involved in this racket. Employees who dare to protest are threatened by the goons of the loan mafia," said a member of the union, requesting anonymity.

Some employees purportedly trapped by the loans sharks had recently approached chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) KD Bhandari, requesting for help so that the workers can lead a normal life and save them from harassment.

"I have discussed the matter with SSP vigilance Rupinder Singh and have also asked employees to meet the SSP. This is a serious issue as a syndicate is operating in a planned manner to exploit the Class 4 employees of the municipal corporation," Bhandari said.

Bhandari is the CPS of the cooperative society. He also claims to have raised the matter with the district manager of the Cooperative Bank, the purported loan-granting bank to the employees.

"I have asked him to look into the matter and zero-in on the MC employees involved in duping the public," he claimed, adding that this was a serious issue and he would ensure that action was taken against the defaulters.

"If the vigilance department fails to act at the local level, I will take up the matter with Deputy Inspector General (DIG) vigilance at the higher level."

THE FRAUD

The main allegation of the workers is that on paper they have been tricked into signing documents which state that they have been given a loan running into lakhs of rupees, while in reality they have been made a payment of only a few thousand of rupees. So, they end up paying interest on a loan amount that has never even reached them.

Many MC employees, including some in our union, are involved in this racket. Employees who dare to protest are threatened by the goons of the loan mafia.

A member of MC union

I have discussed the matter with SSP vigilance Rupinder Singh and have also asked employees to meet him. This is a serious issue as a syndicate is operating in a planned manner to exploit Class 4 employees of the municipal corporation.